Second Chances
by ReKoJ
Summary: J.J. has a problem. This was written upon request for Java5678...sorry it took so long.


Second Chances

J.J. was standing on the upper level, watching the team working below. She was fixated with Derek. He seemed completely immersed in the work he was doing, he was the only person that she had ever known that could be working like a fiend but still look totally relaxed. It was just then that she realized that Aaron was looking at her, an expression on his face that she couldn't quite read. She walked casually back to her office, not wanting her embarrassment at being caught ogling at Derek, to show.

She sat in her office with the door closed, staring at her opened e-mail. She knew that if she was going to do this she would to start it before she lost her nerve. She took a sip of her cold coffee (and for the first time in a long time wished that it was something stronger).

It didn't take her long to finish composing her e-mail. She stared at the typed words, wondering if it was any good. She was just about to hit the delete button when she decided that it was better to send it and have him think she was pathetic, then to not send it and never know if he had any feelings for her. She was shaking with nervousness but she hit the send button.

She sat back in her chair and waited. She highly doubted that he would come walking into her office the moment he read it. She busied herself with the mountain of files that needed to be gone through, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd made a mistake. She began to make plans in her head, just in case she had to switch departments or become part of a different team.

Derek was just about to get up when his computer dinged, notifying him that he had an e-mail. He was the only one left in the Bullpen so he saw no harm in opening it now rather than waiting until he got home.

"Dear Derek,

I know that this seems sudden and I have no idea what you'll think but I've been watching you and I don't mean in a creepy way. I just think that we have a lot in common and I was wondering if you'd like to go out for coffee with me sometime. There's no pressure to respond, just let me know.

J.J."

For a while after reading it, he stared at the words almost in disbelief. For years they had worked together and he never knew, never even suspected that she was attracted to him. He was about to head up to her office when Hotch entered the Bullpen with Reid, Prentiss and Garcia in tow.

"Debriefing room in five," Hotch's all too serious expression told Morgan that the case was probably a gruesome one and that the plan that he had to talk to J.J. would just have to wait until they got back. The debriefing didn't take long and they were on the plane headed to New Jersey in a matter of hours. Derek had hoped that he would get a chance to talk to J.J. on the flight but they were discussing possible motives on the way there. He knew that even if the case went well there would be no discussion on the way back, there rarely was. He couldn't wait for the case to be over so that he could talk to her.

Hours later everyone was at the last place they had wanted to end up; the hospital. J.J. was sitting closest to the door, hand curled under her chin, staring at the ground. She was thinking about all of the opportunities that she had to tell Derek how she felt and she had been too scared to do so…and now she might not get the chance. The case had been simple enough, they had caught the killer before he had the chance to take out his entire family, and the only downfall was that Derek had taken a bullet to the chest. It had happened so quickly that Derek was rushed to the hospital before anyone could even assess how bad the damage was. All they could do was just sit and wait for the doctor, it was nerve wrecking and it made everyone a little on edge and very irritable.

After what seemed like forever, a doctor, still in surgical garb walked into the waiting room. "Which one of you is Jennifer Jareau?"

Everyone looked at the blond woman questioningly as she stood up. "I am."

The doctor was facing her, but it was clear to everyone that he was talking to the whole team. "The surgery went exactly as planned, he's awake for now. The first thing he said was that he wanted to talk to you. Try to keep it brief, the anesthetic is still in his system, he'll be groggy and he needs to get as much rest as possible."

"Okay," J.J. nodded as she walked with the doctor to the recovery room. If she was honest with herself she was nervous. It reminded her of the first time Hotch had ever called her into his office. She was unsure as to why Derek would want to see her. In the midst of everything that had happened she had completely forgot about the e-mail that she had sent him.

The recovery room was big, and it was painted a melon green. As she walked closer to Derek's bed she found Reid's voice in her head stating that most hospitals had recovery rooms painted green because the colour green had a calming effect, but despite the colour of the walls, calm was the last thing that she was feeling.

She pulled the chair that was in the corner close to the bed. "Hey Derek." He looked so fragile in the hospital bed, with the IV in the back of his hand. She didn't know what it was but for one reason or another hospital beds (in her opinion) always made people look smaller.

He opened his eyes as he heard the chair get moved, he smiled weakly at her. "Hey."

Without really thinking about what she was doing, she put her had on top of his. "I'm glad that you're okay. You had us all scared." Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she looked at her teammate.

Derek smiled. "It wasn't on purpose. I try to avoid getting shot. But I am glad that you're here, I had wanted to talk to you."

J.J. cut him off before he could finish. "There's something that I've been meaning to tell you. I know if I don't tell you now I probably never will. I love you; I have for a while now. I think that you're gorgeous." She hadn't breathed at all while she spoke, so it came out as one long sentence.

Derek squeezed her hand. "That's all I wanted to hear baby girl."

J.J. leaned over and kissed him. She knew that starting a relationship with someone that you worked with was risky, either one of them could end up dead, and if it was found out then Hotch could have one of them transferred to a different department. But those were risks and situations that they would deal with when and if they arose.

"Now what?" J.J. asked.

"Well, as soon as I get out of here we'll make plans to go out on a real first date. Okay?"

J.J. nodded and kissed him again.

The end.


End file.
